“Buy Black” Movement Grabs International Attention

Atlanta, GA — The “Buy Black” movement, a form of economic protest among African-Americans, is gaining steam at home and drawing attention abroad. In a recent news package, major French news outlet France 24 covered the Buy Black movement spreading across the US for an international audience.

In an effort to show the different ways African-Americans are organizing in response to police violence, French reporters interviewed rapper and activist Killer Mike, author Dr. Boyce Watkins, True Laundry Detergent creator Ali Muhammad, and founder of online retail start-up WeBuyBlack.com, Shareef Abdul-Malik.

“It just proves that what we are doing has a major impact,” Abdul-Malik said about the foreign news coverage.

“Other communities have a history of supporting each other and using their own small businesses to stimulate their own economic growth,” Abdul-Malik said. “In the Black community, a dollar only circulates for 6 hours. Compare that to some Asian communities, where the same dollar can circulate for up to a month. When you look at it that way, it’s no wonder why we’re not getting ahead like we should.”

At just 24, Abdul-Malik has created a comprehensive online platform that sells everything from toilet paper to skin lotion, all produced by Black-owned companies. And while many of his contemporaries are putting energy into the Black Lives Matter Movement, Abdul-Malik says his work will have a similar impact on future generations of African-Americans.

“I really think it’s a natural complement to the Black Lives Matter movement. At WeBuyBlack we like to say Black Dollars Matter, because when we can learn to use our resources strategically, we can make a bigger impact at home and out in the world.”